There are many popular tools and models in project management that can help project managers and teams plan, execute, and monitor project processes more effectively. In this article, we will recommend and introduce four commonly used and easy-to-use project management models, including waterfall model, scrum model, kanban model, and IPD model.
1.Waterfall model
The waterfall model is a linear sequential approach to project management where the next phase begins after the previous phase is completed. Among them, the progress is a step-like downward flow, similar to a waterfall flowing water, hence the name. This model was widely adopted in the early 70s of the last century, especially in the field of software engineering.
The main phases of a waterfall model are typically as follows:
Requirements Analysis: In this phase, the project team and the client discuss the requirements of the project and clarify the project goals and system functions.
System design: According to the results of requirements analysis, design the architecture, components and interfaces of the whole system.
Development and implementation: The developer starts to write ** and build the system according to the guidance of the design document.
Integration and testing: Combine the written ** into a running system and test the system to ensure that the requirements specifications are met.
Deploy: Once the test is correct, deploy the system into the user's environment.
Maintenance: Ongoing support and repair of the system to ensure its proper functioning.
The waterfall model is characterized by clear start and end points for each stage, and this strict sequential process means that the work of the previous stage must be completed before the next stage can begin.
Although the waterfall model is widely adopted for its simplicity and structure, it has also received some criticism, mainly due to its lack of flexibility: once a project moves to the next stage, it can be very difficult and costly to go back to the previous stage to make changes. In addition, users don't see the finished product until later in the project, which means that any misunderstanding or change in requirements can lead to delays or failures in the project.
Over time, to address these limitations of the waterfall model, more flexible development models such as Agile, Scrum, and Kanban became popular. These models encourage teams to communicate effectively, develop iteratively, and adapt more quickly to changing needs.
2.Scrum model
Scrum is an agile development practice that organizes work around fixed-length iteration cycles, known as sprints.
The Scrum model is pragmatic and operational, which is very suitable for the rapid iterative development of software development projects. On the basis of following the Scrum management method, combined with the current situation of domestic R&D, Zen Tao integrates bug management, test case management, release management, document management and other functions, covering the entire life cycle of software R&D projects.
Scrum is an agile software development framework that supports an iterative and incremental development process. Unlike sequential development models such as the waterfall model, Scrum encourages the project team to exchange feedback frequently during the development cycle and provide working versions of the software in short cycles.
Roles in Scrum:
Product Owner: Responsible for organizing user stories, defining their business value, sequencing them, developing release plans, and being responsible for the product.
Scrum Master: Helps the team follow Scrum practices, remove impediments to the team's progress, and keep the team running efficiently.
Development team: A cross-functional team of people who work closely together to accomplish the goals of each iteration and deliver the product.
The basic flow of Scrum is shown in the diagram above
The Product Owner is responsible for organizing the user story and forming the product backlog on the left.
Release planning meeting: The product owner is responsible for explaining user stories, estimating and ranking them, and the output of the release planning meeting is to develop a list of stories to be completed in this iteration, and the sprint backlog.
Iteration planning meeting: The project team breaks down the tasks of each story, and the criteria for the decomposition is to complete all the tasks of the story, and finally have a clear person in charge of each task, and complete the initial estimate of man-hours.
Daily Meeting: Every day the Scrum Master calls a stand-up meeting where team members answer questions about what they did yesterday and what they plan to do today.
Demo Meeting: At the end of the iteration, a demo meeting is held to which all stakeholders are invited, and the team is responsible for presenting the results of the iteration. During this period, everyone's feedback is recorded and sorted out by the PO to form a new story.
Retrospective meeting: The project team summarizes the current iteration, finds the shortcomings, formulates an improvement plan, and continues to improve in the next iteration, which has achieved the effect of continuous improvement.
The Scrum methodology emphasizes transparency, validation, and alignment. Team members need to review results frequently and reorient their work through collaboration to ensure that the end result meets the expectations and needs of users. Scrum is widely used for projects of all sizes and types, not just software development.
3.Kanban model
Kanban is a popular agile project management tool that originated in Toyota's production system in Japan with the aim of improving efficiency and flexibility by visualizing workflows. Kanban encourages continuous improvement and the ability to respond to change in small steps, and is suitable for many types of work environments, including software development, IT service management, R&D teams, etc.
The Kanban model is designed based on lean management concepts. The whole process from definition to delivery of requirements can be visualized, the project progress can be promoted by pulling production, and the number of WIP limits can be set according to the actual scale of the project and the division of labor, and the WIP quantity (WIP) can be strictly controlled to improve delivery efficiency.
On this board, each task or work item is typically represented by a card that moves from one column to the next until it is finally completed. Kanban boards can have more columns to reflect more detailed work phases, tailored to the team's specific processes and needs. With Kanban, teams can quickly grasp the status of a project at any point in time and effectively manage workflows while improving transparency and team collaboration.
4.IPD model
IPD (Integrated Product Development) is a set of product development models, concepts and methods, which integrates many industry best practices to achieve the goals of shortening time to market, improving product profits, effectively developing products, and providing greater value to customers and enterprises from the two aspects of process reengineering and product reengineering.
The effectiveness of the implementation of the IPD has been validated in both financial and qualitative indicators, and the most significant improvements are:
The product development cycle is significantly shortened;
Reduced product costs;
The ratio of R&D expenses to total income has decreased, and the per capita output rate has increased significantly;
The quality of the products is generally improved;
There has been a significant reduction in the amount of money spent on projects that have been scrapped in the middle of the process.
Under the influence of IBM's successful experience, many high-tech companies at home and abroad have adopted the IPD (Integrated Product Development) model, and have achieved great success. Practice has proved that IPD is not only an advanced idea, but also an excellent product development model.
The purpose of the IPD model is to achieve better project performance, reduce delivery time, control budget, and increase satisfaction for all participants by integrating teams. By working as a team, IPD projects are better able to cope with complexity and change, increasing the likelihood of project success.
Choosing the right project management model needs to be based on the specific needs of the project, how the team works, and the culture of the organization. Sometimes, a combination of tools and models can better manage a project. For example, a team might use a combination of Scrum or Kanban's agile methods to guide the execution of a project.
If you want to do a good job, you must first sharpen your tools. There are plenty of project management software tools to choose from for each project management model. For example, there are 6 types of project management models in Zen Tao project management software: Scrum, Waterfall, Kanban, IPD, Fusion Agile, and Fusion Waterfall. In addition to the four project models introduced earlier, Zen Tao project management software also provides the following two:
The Converged Agile model supports the creation of Kanban based on the Scrum model, and project management can be carried out in a way that can be used in both iteration and Kanban methods. For example, after using iterations to deliver features in the early stages of a project, Kanban is used to manage the maintenance of the project in the later stage.
The Fusion Waterfall model supports the creation of iterations and kanbans on the basis of the waterfall model, and can be used in a project to manage projects in a way: stages, iterations, or kanbans at the same time.
Each project management model has its own characteristics and can meet the needs of enterprise project teams of different sizes. When choosing a project management model, we usually need to conduct a comprehensive evaluation based on the experience and preferences of the project team, as well as the processes and culture of the organization. Experiment and tweak to find the best fit for your specific project and organizational environment.
Project management software